Helsinki News 2 / 2012
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news 2 / 2012 Design defines Helsinki K2SArchitects Ltd. The Helsinki Olympic Stadium is the venue of the European Championships in Athletics 2012. The 1930’s functionalist building is about to enter a period of thorough renovation and modernisation. The project will include a full cover for the stands largely built from wood. Helsinki relies on a democratic dialogue including competi- The Helsinki Central Library competition is part of the pro- tions to develop the city on high standards. gramme of World Design Capital Helsinki 2012, a year-long celebration of design. Major architectural components of the In May 2012 Helsinki invited citizens to dream up their ideas for a design year’s programme include a new university library and major new city public library, Helsinki Central Library, to be built a sculpturesque chapel. They are examples of novel, creative in the heart of Helsinki. At that time the first stage of an open ideas of Finnish architects for the dense Helsinki city centre. international architectural competition had just been completed. New projects also promote cultural and spiritual values amidst The organisers received 543 submissions from all over the world. busy urban life. Helsinki Central Library will be a new kind of urban commu- nity centre, a library of the future, which offers visitors opportu- nities for diverse cultural experiences and interaction, as well as providing traditional library services. World Design The jury will select 6–8 of the submissions for the second stage Capital Helsinki 2012 of the competition to be completed in 2013. The library should highlights the possibilities of be completed in 2017, Finland’s centennial as an independent design in all of its manifestations nation. to shape cities and societies, The tradition of competitions in Helsinki to define the city goes as well as offering a window to deep. Ninety percent of Helsinki’s public buildings are results Finnish design and architecture. of them. Competitions are public affairs, and many of them The design year’s programme consists of more than 300 pro- have stirred heated and very visible debate, especially some of gramme items – public events, exhibitions and, importantly, the buildings in the culturally valuable Töölö Bay area where development projects which look at ways to improve life Helsinki Central Library will be located. The library will join with processes inherent in design. www.wdchelsinki2012.fi major cultural buildings in the area, including Finlandia Hall, the Helsinki Music Centre, the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma and the Sanoma House media headquarters buildings. news Cultural Sauna emerges A haven of tranquility on urban Helsinki waterfront in the city centre “We seek to offer people a place for cleansing, bathing and shar- One of the busiest places in ing quiet togetherness,” says Nene Tsuboi, one of the two Helsinki, a square next to designers and owners of Cultural Sauna, a public sauna which the Kamppi commercial cen- will open its doors in late summer 2012. “The sauna will be an tre and transportation hub, architecturally distinguished public building, which also serves is now home to a chapel for K2SArchitects Ltd. as a place for cultural activity and exchange,” envisions Tuomas reflection, quiet meditation Toivonen, the other designer-owner. and personal encounters. Cultural Sauna continues the tradition of public saunas Architectural design is by the in Helsinki. It will be housed in a low-energy building using Helsinki based K2S Archi- renewable energy. The goal of the project is to invoke discussion tects. about city culture, a new sauna culture in Helsinki, and better The Kamppi Chapel is a use of city centre waterfronts. The project forms part of World small sacral building which Design Capital Helsinki 2012. A similar project is envisioned for interacts with the cityscape Hernesaari, a busy future residential and commercial district of with a curved wooden façade. Helsinki. The chapel’s gently shaped wooden interior embraces visitors, as if by shielding them from the bustling city Kamppi Chapel of Silence life outside. The space is NeneTsuboi defined by natural light flowing down diagonally from skylights. Only the actual chapel space is located in the wooden volume. Secondary facilities are located in a space opening up towards the adjacent Narinkka square. The chapel is staffed by the Helsinki Parish Union and the City of Helsinki Social Services Department. The staff are available to meet visitors for private discussion on personal matters. While the social workers offer counselling, the Parish Union workers mainly focus on pastoral care and spiritual life. The Kamppi Chapel keeps its doors open from morning to evening seven days a week. The chapel is a joint project by the Cultural Sauna Helsinki Parish Union and the City of Helsinki. A contemporary university library in the venerable Helsinki city centre The treasured historical heart of Helsinki with building styles from the 19th to early 20th century has a new contemporary addi- tion – a landmark building which houses the largest research library in Finland. The new building concentrates all library operations of the University of Helsinki’s City Centre Campus. It serves on-campus research and instruction with state-of-the-art, Anttinen OivaArchitects multi-disciplinary collections and services. The library complements the surrounding building stock with a red-brick façade distinguished by large arches and a dense lat- tice of windows that hides the floor division. The interior is like- wise distinguished by large arches which join the library balco- nies and are reflected on the exterior. The City Centre Campus Library occupies a block at Kaisanie- menkatu 5 formerly taken by a parking building. Architectural design is by Anttinen Oiva Architects. The concept was chosen by an invited architectural competition organised in 2007. The building will be commissioned in the autumn of 2012. University of Helsinki City Centre Campus Library news Wooden pavilion serves as a public meeting place The neighbouring museums of Finnish Architecture and Design in Helsinki are joined by a temporary wooden pavilion that spans a vacant lot between the buildings. The Pavilion serves as the central meeting place of World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 dur- This year the annual Helsinki Design Week joins forces ing May-September. The 400-square-metre structure can hold up with World Design Capital Helsinki 2012, making Septem- to 500 people at a time. ber the most design-intensive month of the design year. The Pavilion is an open-air space that hosts a diverse pro- The week is larger than ever before. The programme incor- gramme of World Design Capital events ranging from workshops porates exhibitions, fashion shows, design shopping, and lectures to daytime dances and film screenings. There is a pecha kucha nights, open houses, and much more. The café and a shop. dates are 6–16 September. The Pavilion was designed at Aalto University’s Wood Programme based on the concept of architectural student Pyry- Pekka Kantonen. The roof is composed of triangular elements and rests on eight pillars made up of six L-shaped sections. The Pavilion is a showcase of Finnish sustainable wood architecture. Helsinki Olympic Stadium to be fully renovated and modernised The iconic Olympic Stadium in Helsinki is one of the finest exam- Janne Salovaara ples of Finnish functionalism. The stadium building is the result of an open architectural competition, won by Finnish architects Yrjö Lindegren and Toivo Jäntti. The building was completed in 1938 and expanded to host the 15th Olympic Games in 1952. A series of changes have been implemented since, but the building has retained its original architectural identity accentuated by the 72-metre signature tower. The Olympic Stadium is about to enter its next phase of evolu- tion comprising a thorough renovation and modernisation. The development plans for the stadium are by K2S Architects. The sta- dium will obtain extensive new facilities, many of them under- ground, retaining the original architecture but with everything under the skin rebuilt. The stands will be fully covered. Parking will be removed vacating a large field in front of the building for new uses. There will be extensive new restaurant facilities. The Olympic Stadium renovation and modernisation is sched- The temporary Pavilion is a summertime meeting place. uled for completion in 2018. The stadium will remain in use throughout the re-construction. The stadium is owned by the City of Helsinki. Helsinki City Board votes down Guggenheim Helsinki The Helsinki City Board has narrowly rejected the plan to move forward with the project to build a Guggenheim museum in Hel- sinki. The board voted 8-to-7 against the plan in its meeting on 2 May 2012. The next phase of the Guggenheim project would have involved Suomen Ilmakuva Oy / City of Helsinki an international architectural competition. Helsinki commissioned the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in January 2011 to produce a feasibility study on the possibility to build a Guggenheim museum in Helsinki. The study, presented in January 2012, recommended building the museum at a central location in Helsinki’s South Harbour. Helsinki Olympic Stadium news A preview of the Olympics: Helsinki hosts the Ice Hockey Helsinki hosts European World Championship with a Athletics Championships 2012 touch of design The eyes of sports fans in The IIHF Ice Hockey SUL Europe will be fixed on Hel- World Championship sinki for five days from 27 is the world’s biggest June to 1 July, when the annual winter sports continent’s top athletes event. Helsinki has compete to be crowned as hosted the event seven Europe’s champions in track times during the cham- and field, just weeks before pionship’s history Finnish Ice HockeyAssociation the Olympic Games in Lon- including the 2012 event don (27 July–12 August).